After lots of hard work and planning, you’ve now entered the new world of OTT apps. Congratulations!
Like any proud owner of a new app, you’ve likely put a lot of work into getting yours off the ground and can’t wait for the whole world to meet your new little bundle of joy.
With millions of apps in each app store, however, getting users to find and download your app is no small feat. The good news is that with an average rating of 4.8, Vimeo’s branded OTT apps provide a high-quality experience for your users, so you only need to focus on actually getting them in there.
To help improve your app’s discoverability in the app store, we’ve put together a useful list of best practices that you can implement today.
Great OTT apps grab attention with impactful visuals and copy
Make sure your app hits all the right notes when it comes to how it’s perceived visually and how it makes potential users feel when they read about it.
Have a striking icon
Having a clear, professional app icon that conveys quality — while letting the user know a little about the purpose of your app — is key.
Write a compelling, emotional description
Effective OTT apps listings need to outline its purpose, focus on its value, and where possible, make an emotional connection with the user. Hook them in with the first paragraph, as users may not often click ‘More’ to read the full write-up.
Select eye-catching preview images
Choose clear, high-quality preview images that showcase key elements of the site, core features, and an attention-grabbing user experience. Also consider using an App Preview for the Apple store (it’s a little extra work, but a nice way to highlight the app).
The most popular OTT apps optimize keywords for better reach
They say that OTT apps are the new websites. And just how websites rely on relevant keywords to optimize SEO for discoverability on the web, app keywords are just as important for maximizing ASO (App Search Optimization) in the app stores. Here are a few suggestions on how to optimize app store keywords.
Know the impact of app title and subtitle
Your app Title and Subtitle will carry the largest weight as keywords. There often isn’t much you can do to change these, but worth noting its impact.
Leverage keyword tools
Use keyword tools like Apple’s Reference Guide, Google’s Keyword Planner or Google Trends to hone in the most impactful keywords for your app.
Account for related apps
Consider including the names of other OTT apps in your keyword list if it might be useful for your app to appear in search results for theirs. You might be limited by copyright restrictions — you cannot put copyrighted words in your keyword list — but it’s often worth a shot.
Monitor your keywords
Use tools like Sensor Tower to monitor the rankings of your keywords each month and continuously optimize as needed.
Keep character counts in mind
Apple allows for 100 max characters, Google allows for 167. When compiling your list, include commas in the total count, but don’t worry about spaces. Also, no need to include your app name as a keyword as it’s accounted for in the Title field.
Consider advertising your OTT apps
Depending on your budget, you may want to pay for some visibility. Even if just a small amount, advertising in app stores and online is often a good exercise in testing the discoverability of your app to determine how to optimize further.
App stores
Both the Apple and Google Play apps stores offer the ability to pay for your app to be featured. You can advertise your Roku OTT app on its Channel Store as well.
Facebook Apps ads
Leverage Facebook for Business app ad solutions for driving installs and engagement with your ad on Facebook, Instagram and related platforms.
Others advertising platforms
Based on the nature of your app, other paid channels (i.e. Google AdWords, other social media destinations) could be useful for driving increased app awareness.
Drive user app ratings & reviews
Getting high user ratings and a lot of great app reviews is probably the best thing you can do to make sure your OTT apps succeed. In fact, one report found that 90% of consumers consider app ratings to be a critical part of their decision-making process.
Here are three ways you can drive positive app store ratings and reviews.
1. Use Vimeo OTT’s built-in prompts
Your Vimeo OTT apps have built-in prompts to encourage your users to rate and review your app when they’re most engaged.
2. Enlist your loyal fans
Sometimes you just have to ask! Some of your users will be more than happy to give you glowing reviews if you simply ask nicely. To help facilitate, Vimeo’s OTT solution let’s you reach out to users directly via email and in-app notifications and provides the ability to export your user list to create a tailored email campaign.
You can also connect to users if you’re leveraging Vimeo’s built-in Forums solution for your user community or through a 3rd party community like Facebook Groups.
3. Stay on top of negative reviews
Just as important, when you do get a negative review, don’t ignore it. Make sure you respond to that user with a thoughtful response that will let that user (as well as your larger user base) know that you genuinely care and that you’ll do what you can to address their concern.
As you can see, there are a number of ways to show your new app some helpful TLC to get it some very useful attention within the app stores. We hope this list is a great start to get you on the right path, but as a valued Vimeo OTT customer, you’ll always have the help you need to come up with the right strategy, just reach out!
